Melling Parish Council recently held a ‘My Community Matters’ competition for individuals within the Parish who were submitting on behalf of an organisation/group, and received an overwhelming response.

The competition asked what people liked and disliked about Melling. The top three likes were the lovely flowers and plants in the area from Melling in Bloom, the Community Spirit, and the parks and gardens.

The top 3 dislikes were dog fouling, litter and graffiti (click here to see how the Parish Council are addressing some of these issues).

To celebrate Melling’s great community spirit, the Parish Council held a special Prize-giving Evening at the Melling Tithebarn on 10 April 2014. The evening commenced with a presentation from Councillor Thompson about Melling’s Neighbourhood Plan. One of the ideas behind the competition was to bring the community together to raise awareness of the Plan, and to inform people of how they can get involved. Over the coming months, the Parish Council will be consulting and engaging with the rest of the Parish to find out what they want to include in the plan, and have a say in the development of Melling in the future.

Three prizes for the competition were presented by Melling Parish Council’s Chairman, Councillor Ron Baker. 1st Prize went to 7th Sefton East (Melling) Scout Group; 2nd Prize went to Melling Primary School; and a joint 3rd prize went to Melling in Bloom and Melling Pensioners Club. Local Community Organisations were also invited to give a talk about the wonderful things they do for the community, namely Carla Lane Animals in Need, Messy Church, Melling Tithebarn Arts Association, Melling Baptist Church, Scout Association, Pensioners Group, Melling Youth Club and Melling in Bloom.